"Power of Horror" by Julia Kristeva
Gabe Porter Power of Horror ''was written by Julia Kristeva in 1980. Julia Kristeva is Bulgarian-French philosopher who made a name for herself in the realm of cultural studies, more specifically feminism, she has also done work in trying to create a psychoanalytical approach to poststructuralist criticism. Kristeva has written over 30 books, many of which have gone on and influenced others. Kristeva builds upon Freud’s work immensely, taking them and making them adapt to newer criticism styles. A major contribution of Kristeva’s is the idea that the signification is composed of two different elements, these two being the symbolic and the semiotic, this shows the other major philosopher whose work Kristeva builds upon, that being Saussure and his teachings of semiotics. Kristeva’s version of the semiotic is distinct from Saussure’s though as she relates hers to the infantile pre-Oedipal which is again a concept that was built upon from Freud’s works, and it also deals with psychoanalysis and the pre-mirror stage. This difference set her apart from those who came before her and Kristeva’s ideas would go on to influence many more after her. Another Aspect Kristeva deals with is that of intertextuality, which is the process of gaining meaning and understanding one work while looking at it with the thought of and the lens of another work. This was a very important area that she helped grow because it is still widely used today and is what this whole class has been based on. Kristeva has also been cited as a major player in the French feminist movement, along with people like Simone de Beauvoir and Luce Irigay. Kristeva has felt, however, that her feminist works have been misconstrued by American feminists who do not look at language through the lens of history and the experiences that an individual will experience. Abjection is another major element that Kristeva writes about a lot in her work. A major work of hers that deals with this is ''Powers of Horror. Abjection is the process of detaching oneself from your own senses in order to preserve your sense of life. It is usually a horrific experience that jolts this feeling of abjection in yourself. Kristeva uses this in her essay to say that it is an important part of psychosexual development, a theory that was created by Freud, it must be experienced after the chora, which is a state of a child’s life from birth to around six months of age where the child is driven by forces of feelings, needs, and perceptions, and before the mirror phase, which is when the child, at around 6-18 months of age, can recognize itself in the mirror. Kristeva purposes that it is necessary as it gives the child a sense of the Real, such as a child seeing a dead body, it will understand more so the concept of death. Abjection is essentially, to Kristeva, what makes us human. It is a sign of us backing away from our base primal animalistic urges. Kristeva’s works are very important and show us many new ways to think about how we view the world. Category:Julia Kristeva Category:Abjection Category:Psychoanalysis Category:Psychosexual Category:Feminist Category:Powers of Horror